England Legend Yankey calls on Shropshire to adopt child-first coaching to keep girls in the game

The Lioness who won 129 caps for England in a glittering career for club and country was speaking at a girls football session run by Oxford United Foundation on the morning of England’s group D clash against Holland for Play Their Way, the Sport England funded campaign which aims to transform the way children and young people are coached through child-first coaching.

Yankey retired from the professional game in 2016, but has since coached grassroots football in schools across London with a focus on providing positive and fun experiences for girls. She was also the face of Footy Pups, the CBeebies series providing fun football skills and games for children taking their first steps in the game.

The session took place against a backdrop of a continuing gender participation gap between boys and girls with the latest Sport England Children’s Active Lives survey highlighting that girls (44%) are less likely to be active then boys (51%). The survey also highlights the decline in happiness levels amongst both boys and girls especially for those who were at nursery school when the pandemic struck.

An enjoyment gap between boys and girls when it comes to sport and physical activity also persists, despite increasing numbers of girls participating in football for the first time, resulting in a significant proportion of girls dropping out of sport after primary school and as they reach their teenage years.

Research undertaken with children and young people by Play Their Way has also shown that girls are less likely than boys to feel encouraged and listened to by their coaches.

The child-first coaching approach championed by Play Their Way, where coaches focus on giving every child a voice and choice and to lead their own journey in sport and physical activity, aims to address this enjoyment gap and ensure positive experiences for every young person.

Yankey joined in with a special session with Oxford United under-11 and under-12 girls players who are benefiting from a child-first approach to coaching, which sees them create ideas for coaching sessions and take responsibility for deciding substitutions during competitive matches.

Rachel Yankey, said: “We’ve seen such a huge growth in participation as a result of the success of the Lionesses in recent years, but the evidence shows that girls enjoy sport less than boys and we need to address this to make sure that girls stay active as they get older. It’s so important that we make those first experiences for girls taking part in football or any sport positive and empowering ones and a child-first approach is absolutely key to this. The child-first model that Oxford United have developed is so important for girls and needs to be adopted far more widely across the country.”

Kate Dale, Strategic Lead for Campaigns, Sport England added: “The gender gap in activity levels starts young and can last into adulthood – affecting the health and wellbeing of girls now and in the future. Positive early experiences of sport are vital, so that girls want to keep taking part and don’t drop out. Play Their Way and the child-first coaching approach - focusing on fun and engaging with what children want – is an essential part of closing the gap and keeping girls active.”

Kerri Coombs, Head of Girls Football, Oxford United, commented: “It was fantastic to welcome Play Their Way and Rachel to our session today to see first-hand the impact of our child-first approach to coaching has on the girls who we work with. It’s a philosophy that is working, with girls having positive experiences of playing that we believe will see them stay in sport and activity for life regardless of what level they play or participate at.”

The event was also supported by Boing, an Oxford based CIC and member of the Children’s Coaching Collaborative that ​helps children develop their physical literacy skills by training children’s coaches to deliver inclusive play programmes.

Ben Franks, Head of Learning and Development, Boing, said: “Child-first coaching is fundamental to inclusive play for children and young people and creating an environment where children have fun being active, can be creative and confident in their movement and as a result feel that physical activity is something for them. It’s about creating active spaces that support children to use their imaginations to solve problems and it was great to see that in action here today in Oxford, through the incredible work that Oxford United and Oxford United do with their girls’ teams.”

The Play Their Way movement was launched in May 2023 to transform the way children and young people are coached by prioritising their rights, needs and enjoyment in a ‘child-first’ approach. The campaign is funded by Sport England and The National Lottery and is led by the 16 partner organisations that make up the CCC.

To learn more about the campaign, access resources and sign up to join the biggest grassroots movement to transform the way we coach our children and young people visit playtheirway.org.